


Why didn’t the curse break?

by SwanQueenaddict



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-09-23 08:23:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20337073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwanQueenaddict/pseuds/SwanQueenaddict
Summary: Pan’s curse is about to hit, Emma is going to leave town with Henry and Regina feels like she has nothing to lose. So she decides to kiss Emma.





	Why didn’t the curse break?

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Why didn't the curse break? - Fanart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20476778) by [Laura_p_g](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laura_p_g/pseuds/Laura_p_g). 

> Thank you to my amazing bèta for being patient and helping me.

Regina touched the scroll and everything went black and what she had to do came to her. The ultimate price to pay for the magic she had used. She heard a familiar voice calling out her name. ‘Regina, Regina!’ and then one more time but this time Emma sounded more urgent, more worried ‘Regina!’

She opened her eyes and the first word that came to mind was, ‘Emma.’ It didn’t have it’s usual bite or mocking tone but came out soft and worried. 

‘What happened? Are you okay?’ Emma asked the worry evident in her voice. Still a bit shaken from Regina suddenly passing out like that.

Regina took a second to gather her thoughts and said, ‘Yes I’m fine, it was just…’ How was she going to tell them that she had to give up the thing she loved most, which happened to be Henry and Emma, she had never even told Emma she loved her. 

Her train of thought got interrupted by Mary Margaret asking, ‘What is it? What happened when you touched it?’ She sounded panicked and worried which was the opposite of her normal calm and collected behavior. 

Regina replied with, ‘I saw what needed to be done.’ She couldn’t hide the sadness in her voice and this alarmed Emma and Henry. 

Both looked worried and Henry asked, ‘Mom.. a.. are you going to be okay?’ He looked up at his mother, worry and fear written all over his face. 

Regina’s heart broke at the sight of his worried and frightened face but managed to say, ‘The most important thing is, you will be.’

They heard Peter say, ‘No he won’t.’ He then took the curse and used his magic so no one could move.

After that Rumplestiltskin came in and saved the day by sacrificing himself. Regina’s mind began racing and she was deep in thought. It was her turn now to make the sacrifice, she had to find a way to break the news. She was drawn out of her thoughts by Emma, who stepped towards her and asked, ‘Well.. What’s the price, Gold said that there was a price... what is our price?’ Emma’s mask slowly faded as her worry and fear slowly began to show. 

‘It’s not our price, it’s mine’. Regina replied. Still not really knowing how to explain what she had to do to the others. 

Emma looked confused and even a little scared, ‘Wait... what are you talking about?’

Regina answered still debating what she should tell Emma and what not, ‘It’s what I felt when I first held it. I have to say goodbye to the thing I love most’.

Henry stepped towards them and Emma asked, ‘Henry?’ Thinking that was the only thing Regina loved, no matter how much Emma wished to be loved by Regina. 

Regina so badly wanted to say and you, Emma, but she didn’t have the courage to do so instead she said, ‘I can never see him again, I have no choice. I have to undo what I started.’ 

She explained how Storybrooke would be destroyed and how everyone, except Henry, would go back to where they were from and that they could never come back. She told Emma she had to go with Henry so he wouldn’t be alone and that she was the savior so she could escape it once again. It was mostly true, she just left out the part of Emma being one of the "things" she had to say goodbye to.

Emma didn’t want to go, she didn’t want to leave Regina and her family behind, not when there was so much left unsaid. But Regina told her staying wasn’t an option. Even though Regina knew how much it would hurt to see them both go. 

Emma still refused to go saying, ‘I’m the savior right, I’m supposed to bring back the happy endings. That’s what Henry always said.’ She refused to believe that there weren’t any other options, she was the savior after all, there must be something she could do. 

Before Regina could answer her mother answered her with these words, ‘Happy endings aren’t always what we think they will be.’ Trying to stay positive and wanting to teach her daughter one last lesson before she went away… again. 

Regina looked at Emma and Henry knowing they were her happy ending. When she looked away Emma looked at Regina, fearing she might have lost her happy ending. After that Regina convinced Emma to go. Against her own heart’s desire. 

So they went to the town line to say their goodbyes. Emma and Henry hugged Mary Margaret and David. Then Emma went to say goodbye to Neal and Hook. Henry went to Regina and told her how guilty he felt, how he thought she didn’t love him but that he knew he was wrong. Regina told him she just wanted him to be happy, and that she was a villain, and villains don’t get happy endings. Regina felt defeated, she just wanted to be happy, she already had lost so much and now she finally was building a family, a chance at happiness and it was ripped away from her. 

Henry’s last words to his mother were, ‘You’re not a villain, you’re my mom.’ His heart broke at seeing his mom so sad. He couldn’t believe that this was really it. Henry was convinced that good always won, that there always would be a happy ending. So how could this happen, this wasn’t a happy ending. 

Regina had trouble holding back her tears. After these heartbreaking goodbyes everyone took a step back so Emma and Regina could say goodbye. 

‘Emma, there is something I haven’t told you.’ Regina said feeling the dread of the words she was about to say. 

For a minute Emma thought that this would be it, a confession of Regina’s feelings towards her. Proof that she hadn’t misread the signs. But instead Regina told her she would lose her memory and that the town people would go back to being stories again. ‘What will happen to us?’ Emma asked, feeling stupid for thinking Regina would ever feel the same. 

‘I don’t know.’ Regina sighed defeated. 

‘That doesn’t sound much like a happy ending.’ Emma replied glumly.

‘It’s not... but I can give you one.’ Regina would have loved to use this sentence in any other circumstance, but because of all the ‘could have beens’ and happy endings they could have had that were taken away, the sentence became sad and painful.

‘You can preserve our memories?‘ Emma asked expectantly. Thinking that all hope might not be lost. 

‘No, but I can give you new ones.' Regina gave Emma a soft but sad smile, 'My gift to you is new memories... a good life, for you and Henry. You will have never given him up. You will have always been together.’ Regina’s voice broke and tears threatened to spill. She looked at Emma with a loving look yet because of what was happening it was also filled with sadness. She tried her best to keep her feelings hidden, but with all the emotional turmoil going on inside, she was failing. 

‘You’d do that?' Emma asked. She could see Regina’s pain and sadness and wished she could make it stop.

‘When I stop Pan’s curse and you cross that town line, you’ll have the life you've always wanted.’ Regina replied earnestly and tried to sound as happy for Emma as she could manage with a breaking heart.

‘But it won’t be real.’ Emma wasn't looking forward to this new "happy ending", a life without her parents and friends and certainly one without Regina didn't sound like anything she wanted at the moment.

‘Your past won’t be but your future will. Now go; there isn’t much time left.’

Regina gave Henry one last big hug and as Emma started to turn away Regina knew she had nothing to lose and said ‘Emma, wait...’

She went to Emma and kissed her. To her surprise Emma kissed her back and this all would have been perfect if it wasn’t for the giant cloud of green smoke getting closer. They parted far too quickly, Emma and Henry jumped in the car and as they drove over the town line and saw how Regina took everyone back to the Enchanted Forest, Emma’s last thought was that bittersweet kiss. 

While Regina brought everyone to the Enchanted Forest she couldn’t help but think about how Emma’s lips felt against hers and then the realization hit, this would the first and last time they would be able to kiss. And the warm fuzzy feeling she had felt when they kissed went away and sadness and pain took its place.

When they got back to the Enchanted forest Regina, Snow and Charming talked to Aurora and Philip. They found out Aurora was pregnant and got some supplies so they could walk to Regina’s castle. When they were walking to Regina’s castle Snow realised that Regina was missing. So she searched for her and found her while she was burying something. 

‘What are you doing?’ Snow asked clearly worried. She feared that now she lost Henry and Emma Regina might go back to her old ways. 

‘So now you’re following me.’ Regina answered irritated. She couldn’t believe Snow wouldn’t leave her alone for 5 seconds. 

‘We were worried and it looks like we were right to be. What are you burying?’ 

‘Nothing that concerns you.’ She didn’t want anyone to see her this vulnerable and certainly not Snow White.

‘Why does that make me feel it does? What have you done? Is that a heart?’ No it couldn’t be. But why would she burry someone’s heart and not crush it? Unless… 

‘Go away!’ Regina was even more irritated now. She just wanted to make it stop hurting. Why couldn’t Snow just leave her alone. 

But Snow didn’t give up. ‘It’s your heart, isn’t it?’ She felt sorry for Regina and understood how she felt, but she knew this wasn’t the way. 

‘I am not having this conversation with you.’ Snow was the last person she wanted to talk to and be this vulnerable around. 

Snow answered ‘I know you miss Henry…’ and then paused as if she wanted to say something but wasn’t quite sure if she should. Then she slowly added ‘... and Emma.’ 

‘Not as much as I did when that was still beating in my chest.’ Regina said while pointing at her heart. Briefly and nearly unnoticeably flinching at Snow mentioning Emma and Henry’s name. 

‘But, Regina, this isn’t the answer. No matter how much pain you may feel. You can’t just bury it in the woods.’ She noticed the slight flinch and couldn’t help but feel bad for thinking she would turn back to her old ways again. 

‘Watch me.’ Regina said, clearly stating she wouldn’t take any of Snow’s bullcrap. She wanted this pain gone and this was the only way to get rid of it. 

‘You won’t feel better. You won’t feel anything.’ Snow wasn’t going to give up, Regina needed her help and she was going to get it even if she didn’t want her help. 

‘That’s the point. I can’t keep walking around knowing that I’ll never see Henry… or Emma. Knowing that they don’t even remember who I am. Knowing that the moment Emma and I shared...’ Regina stopped herself from speaking, because saying it all out loud made it more real and even more painful, too painful. 

‘I know exactly how you’re feeling. I just said goodbye to my daughter for the second time, Henry too. But I promise you it will get better with that.’ Snow said while pointing at Regina’s heart. She continued. ‘Right now it might be causing you pain. But I promise you it will let you feel something else soon enough.’ She wanted to let Regina know that she wasn’t alone. That in the past they may have fought but now she was there for her. Now the two women would need to trust each other. And maybe they might even become friends. 

‘What’s that?’ Regina asked now intrigued with what Snow had to say. Curious about what Snow thought was worth all this pain. 

‘The one thing Henry and Emma always wanted you to find… happiness.’ She looked Regina in the eyes making sure that Regina knew she meant every word she was saying. 

‘I can’t be happy without them.’ Regina was surprised Snow thought she could be happy without Henry and Emma. Happiness felt like an impossible thing she would never experience again. 

Snow stepped closer and put a hand on Regina’s arm to show she understood and was there for Regina if she needed her. And then Snow spoke again, ‘Find a way, for Emma and Henry.’ She knew this would convince Regina to put her heart back inside her chest. This woman would do anything for the people she loved, much like Snow herself. 

Regina took a deep breath to prepare herself, bowed down and picked her heart up. She hesitantly put her heart back inside her chest. The pain and sadness worsened and she had to hold back tears that threatened to spill. After taking another deep breath she put her mask back on and said, ‘Now let’s get back to our castle.’ 

On their way back to the group Snow heard something and a strange gush of air pushed her hair into her face. ‘Did you hear that?’ she asked Regina with a little worry in her voice. ‘There was something there in that bush.’ she continued. 

‘There is nothing here unless it flew away.’ Regina answered her pain and sadness ebbed away for a second and awareness took over. Her instincts kicked in.

‘It did!’ Snow said while pointing at a flying monkey flying straight towards them. ‘We need to find cover.’ Snow said while running. 

Regina stopped abruptly and said, ‘No. I don’t run from monsters.’ She then readied a fireball to throw at the monster and before throwing it she said, ‘They run from me.’ She then proceeded to throw the fireball at the flying monkey but it ducked it and grabbed Regina. 

When it tried to fly away with Regina Snow grabbed her and pulled her back down. ‘It’s too fast.’ Snow said slightly out of breath.

‘I’m open to suggestions.’ Regina replied clearly starting to panic. 

Then Snow had an idea, ‘Wait until it’s close enough then shoot a fireball at it, so it doesn’t have time to evade it.’ 

Regina did as Snow had said and when the monkey tried to evade it, the fireball hit the monkey’s feet. The monkey got scared away and Regina and Snow got up. 

‘Regina, you’re injured.’ 

‘I’m fine. Did you know you’re occasionally a genius.’ Snow couldn’t help but let out a little laugh at that compliment. 

They joined the group again and after a few moments of silence Snow asked, ‘So are we going to talk about you and Emma or are we just going to act like nothing happened?’ 

‘We’re here.’ Regina said and quickly walked forward to her castle only to find out that someone cast a protection spell around it. 

~~

They parted far too quickly, Emma and Henry jumped in the car and as they drove over the town line and saw how Regina took everyone back to the Enchanted Forest, Emma’s last thought was that bittersweet kiss.

The next thing Emma knew she was in her yellow bug on her way to New York with her son. After their apartment in Boston burned down Emma and Henry drove to New York so they could get a fresh start. Emma had found a lovely apartment that was affordable as well. And luckily for them Emma could do her job anywhere. Every city had people who jumped bail, so that wasn’t a problem. There was no reason to be worried at all but still Emma couldn’t shake this feeling, that something wasn’t right. Her worries all disappeared when she saw Henry smiling next to her and when she saw how excited he was; she knew everything would turn out fine as long as they were together. 

As soon as they got settled in their new place Henry and Emma decided it was time to explore a bit of New York. After walking around for a bit and getting to know the area Henry turned to his mother and said, ‘I’m hungry, mom.’ 

‘Well what do you want to eat, kid?’ Emma asked with a loving but yet teasing tone and emphasizing the ‘kid’. 

‘Pizza!’ Henry exclaimed excited. 

‘You always choose pizza.’ Emma groaned and acted irritated. 

‘Pizza is good.’ Henry stated with his head held high and a sure tone of voice. They went and got some pizza and they both loved it. 

After a long and tiring day they both decided to go to bed. Emma fell asleep and had the weirdest dream. There was this woman with big brown eyes and dark brown hair and she had the strangest feeling that she knew her, she felt like this woman was important. When Emma woke up she had forgotten the woman and the dream. She got up, got dressed and made Henry some breakfast and after that he got ready for his first day at his new school.

~~

Back in the Enchanted Forest

Regina turned to David and Snow. ‘A protection spell, the entire castle is encircled by it.’ Regina stated dryly with her deep voice. 

‘Didn’t you do this? Undo it.’ David said a bit commandingly. Still not really trusting Regina.

‘Well don’t you think if I could I’d be halfway home by now. No, someone hijacked it.’ Regina said irritated with a hint of sass in her voice. A glimpse of the old, more sure Regina coming to the surface.

‘Who, who’s in there?’ Snow asked with panic and irritation recognisable in her voice. Being done with all the troubles and just wanting to have one thing going their way. 

‘I don’t know. But I’m going to find out whoever is eating my porridge. Nobody sits in my chair! Nobody takes our castle!’ Regina’s anger started to boil, whoever was in there was in for a treat. All the events that had happened in the last days had already made her pissed and this was the last straw. 

‘Hey.’ Charming said in a whisper trying to calm her down, ‘We’ve got a lot of people looking to us. They’re scared and rightfully so let’s get them to safety first.’ His voice was deep and he was serious and trying to get through to Regina. 

‘They’ll be safe when whoever is in there is dead!’ Regina said raising her voice just a little to show she wasn’t going to back down that easily. 

‘Rushing in there is a bad plan, Regina, you know that.’ Snow said clearly annoyed at Regina’s stubbornness. 

Then a man, who had joined them and had been walking with Belle and Neal up until now, came up to them and introduced himself as Robin Hood. He offered to take them to Sherwood Forest, insuring them it was a safe place. The group agreed to go but Regina vowed to come back and make the person who did this suffer. Snow promised her they would come back and make their home safe again. 

Everyone but Regina started to follow Robin Hood to Sherwood forest. 

Regina stood still and stared at their castle and let everything that had happened these past few days sink in, when it hit her… The curse didn’t break, if Emma had feelings for her the curse would have been broken. But why had she kissed her back then? Was it just the heat of the moment? A million questions floated through Regina’s head, a voice brought her back. 

‘Are you thinking about Henry?’ Snow asked clearly concerned about Regina.

‘I am always thinking about Henry.’ She replied not realising a tear rolled down her cheek. 

‘Regina, you’re crying. What’s going on?’ Snow got even more worried and had a feeling that this was not just about Henry.

‘I miss Henry, that’s all, I’m fine.’ Regina replied trying to convince Snow that nothing more was going on but failing miserably.

‘No, that’s not it. Tell me the truth, Regina.’ Snow looked at her with sincerity and genuinely wanted to know what was bothering Regina. 

‘The curse didn’t break when Emma and I kissed, which can only mean that... she doesn’t feel the same way.’ Regina’s voice was barely above a whisper and trembled. Her voice broke in the middle of her sentence. A couple more tears ran down her cheeks. 

Snow went quiet for a second, she had never seen Regina like this. She had always acted strong even when inside her heart was breaking. ‘Regina, I saw you and Emma kiss and even before that the only things Emma ever talked about were you and Henry. I don’t doubt her feelings for you. There must be another reason, maybe it’s like with David and I. When we kissed your curse didn’t break either. Or maybe it’s because the curse wasn’t fully enacted yet. What isn’t there can’t be broken.’

Regina decided to believe Snow and most of the sadness lessened, although a part of her couldn’t help but feel like she was right, that Emma didn’t feel the same way. Pull it together Regina, what does it even matter if she has feelings for you or not she doesn’t even remember you and neither does Henry. Just focus on getting into the castle. And that was when it came to her. 

‘Regina, Regina? What is going on?’ Snow asked clearly worried. The woman in front of her hadn’t said anything to her for the past two minutes and just stared in front of her. 

‘I was thinking there are tunnels that run under the castle, they may run beneath the spell.’ Regina said trying to pull herself together again, trying to focus on what was ahead and tried to steady her voice. She turned to Snow and Charming, who had just joined them both. 

‘Which means we can sneak an army inside.’ Charming said confidently. He wanted to get their home back as quickly as possible so they could finally rest and work out what they were going to do next. They started to walk towards Sherwood Forest so they didn’t fall too far behind. 

‘An army would be detected.’ Regina said, a plan of what she was going to do was already forming inside her head while she regained a bit of her confidence.

‘So how do the tunnels help us?’ Snow asked confused about why Regina would bring this up if it couldn’t help them. 

‘Because it can get me inside.’ Regina said laying the emphasis on ‘me’. ‘And if I can get inside, then I can lower the shield. Then you can send in your army.’ Her voice was finally completely steady again and her confidence was starting to show in her features. 

David nodded in agreement but before anyone could say anything a loud screeching was heard. Snow readied her bow and Charming grabbed his sword. The flying monkey went down and straight for a little kid. The kid screamed for its papa. Robin ran towards Roland while yelling his name but he couldn’t make it in time. Luckily Regina saw what was happening and was able to pick him up and get him to safety. When the monkey came towards them she used her magic and turned him into a toy. Robin rushed to Roland and picked him up. Regina went and got the toy and walked over to where Roland and his father were standing.

‘See not so scary, now you have a new toy.’ Regina said to Roland while giving him the toy. Her voice was soft and filled with tenderness and her lips curled into a smile. 

‘Thank you.’ Robin said with a relieved and grateful smile on his face. 

They all continued on their journey to Sherwood Forest. While they did they discussed who the hijacker of their castle could be. Everything suddenly clicked when Leroy said, ‘I would like to know who keeps sending flying monkeys after us.’ 

‘Flying monkeys.’ Regina repeated ‘I think I know who hijacked our castle. The only place that has flying monkeys is Oz.’ Regina explained, everything started to make a little sense and at least she now knew who she had to hate. 

‘Wait, you think the Wicked Witch is currently residing in our castle?’ Snow asked in disbelief. ‘Shouldn’t we cancel our plans? She could be really dangerous, so sending Regina in there alone might not be the best plan. I mean she has flying monkeys protecting her, who knows what else?’ Snow asked a little tremble in her voice and worried for Regina’s safety. 

‘I don’t care if the lollipop guild is protecting her, I am taking our castle back.’ Regina said with sternness and confidence and a bit of a sassy undertone. 

They all agreed to do everything as planned and continued walking to Sherwood forest. By nightfall everyone had arrived and Regina, Charming, Snow and their army readied to carry out the plan they had discussed. 

Regina went to the place where she had access to the tunnels and removed the giant rock that blocked her entrance. Right before she was about to enter she saw a torch coming towards her. When she saw who was the one carrying the torch Regina growled a loud ‘No!’

‘No?’ Snow asked with a voice a little higher than usual. While feigning innocence and acting like she didn’t know what Regina meant. 

‘You’re not coming.’ Regina said her voice a little lower than usual, showing she was irritated and serious. She wanted, no needed to do this alone. 

‘It’s too dangerous, we don’t know how powerful this witch is. I’m coming whether you like it or not.’ Snow’s voice was steady, which meant she was serious and wasn’t going to change her mind. She was helping Regina, whether she wanted her help or not. 

‘Fine.’ Regina growled, while she rolled her eyes, her voice dropped even more. She was clearly irritated and not pleased with the situation. 

They walked into the tunnels to where the first traps were.

‘Step in between.’ Regina said pointing at the tiles. And then she pointed at the contraption right in front of them. It was a mechanism with giant spikes made of iron. If you triggered it the two sides close and well, let’s just say you did not want to trigger that, unless you liked being impaled by spikes. They arrived at the entrance of Regina’s crypt only to find the door wide open. 

‘That’s impossible, I sealed it with blood magic. I’m the only one who can open it.’ Regina’s voice got a bit higher, indicating she was worried and her features gave away her confusion. 

‘Well clearly someone managed to break it and get in.’ Snow commented quite confused herself. 

They cautiously walked into the crypt and when they saw no one was in there they walked through the crypt to Regina’s bedchambers. There Regina grabbed a case with all kinds of ingredients. 

‘What is that?’ Snow asked firmly.

‘Nothing that concerns you.’ Regina said with a scowl while rolling her eyes. 

Snow felt threatened so she readied her bow pointed it at Regina and said ‘I won’t ask you again. What is that?’ She emphasised every word making sure Regina knew she meant every word. 

For a moment Regina considered choking the life out of Snow, who threatened her in her own castle. But then her conscience took over and she just decided to tell her. 

‘These are ingredients to make a sleeping curse.’ Regina explained not even glancing at Snow instead focussing on making said sleeping curse. 

‘Like the one you used one me.’ Snow asked scared but curious at the same time. 

‘That spell came from Maleficent, I finally learned how to make one of my own.’ Regina said monotone. 

‘That’s why you wanted to come to the castle to make a sleeping curse and use it on the witch.’ Snow said, while lowering her bow, finally understanding why Regina was so eager to get into the castle. 

‘The witch...’ Regina said raising her voice to mock the thought of wasting a good curse on her. ‘I don’t care about her.’ 

‘Then who do you plan to use it on?’ Alarm bells rang in Snow’s head. She took a step back for safety. 

‘Don’t worry, no one you’ll miss. No one anyone will miss.’ Regina’s voice thick with sadness and pain. Regina sat down, finished the potion and grabbed a hairpin. 

‘This is about Henry and Emma, isn’t it?’ Snow got no response from Regina, not even a glance. ‘I can’t let you do this.’ Snow’s voice became soft, she slowly walked towards Regina her eyes pleading not to go through with this. 

‘Then it’s a good thing you don’t have a say in the matter.’ Regina magicked Snow’s feet stuck on the ground. Regina couldn’t live like this, she had nothing to live for. 

‘I know how you feel, Regina, when I saw Emma and Henry cross that line I felt like there was no reason to continue. But then I looked around me and saw David and our people and found reasons to continue.’ Snow said in an attempt to make Regina see that she just had to look for something to live for. 

‘That’s where you and I are different, you still have your Charming, I lost everything that mattered.’ Regina had to stop the tears that threatened to spill. 

‘That doesn’t mean you won’t find something new, everyone gets a chance at a happy ending, Regina. You just have to open your eyes.’ Snow was not going to give up that easily, she was going to convince Regina that there were things to live for or at least keep talking to her so she couldn’t go through with it. 

‘Too bad mine will be closed.’ Regina commented dryly. 

‘So that’s it you’re just going to give up? After everything you’ve been through?’ Snow’s voice became louder and higher, showing her anger and frustration with Regina. She couldn’t believe that after everything this woman had gone through she was going to give up this easily. 

Regina wiped away a tear before turning around. ‘This isn’t an end, it’s an eternal middle. This curse can be broken by the only true love in my life and the only reason I would even want to wake, Henry.’ Her voice shook and her eyes were filled with tears. She had thought about Emma coming to save her with true love's kiss but she couldn’t shake the thought that Emma didn’t feel the same way, otherwise the curse would have been broken. 

‘Regina, please, you’re making a mistake.’ Snow pleaded, trying to break free of the spell and move closer but failing. 

‘Don’t worry, I’ll keep my word. I’ll lower the protection spell so that you and your prince Charming can be victorious. But then, then I go to sleep.’ Regina’s voice became steady and deep again, indicating that she was determined to make the misery stop. 

Regina did keep her word and lowered the protection spell. She then sat down on the bench in the courtyard. She started speaking these words into the cold air, her voice hoarse and filled with sorrow. Her eyes had lost their sparkle, she hadn’t felt this hopeless in a long time. 

‘I’m sorry, Henry. Maybe one day you’ll find me and wake me up. But until then.’ She slowly moved the pin, that she had dipped in the sleeping potion, closer to her finger and right before she was able to prick herself, Regina heard a high voice. 

‘You weren’t even going to say hello first.’ The woman the voice belonged to slowly came closer. ‘Not exactly the welcome I was expecting.’ Her voice dripping with feigned disappointment. ‘What does a witch have to do to get your attention?’ She now stood next to the bench and before Regina could react she magicked the pin into her hand. ‘What’s the matter has life got you down.’ She said with fake concern and sarcasm. 

‘None of your business.’ Regina answered irritated. She quickly hid her emotions and put her game face on. 

‘You really don’t know who I am, do you?’ The witch said coyly.

‘I know exactly who you are, the Wicked Witch.’ Regina stared the green woman down. Her voice was raspy and had a hostile tone. 

‘Is that all?’ The Wicked Witch asked unimpressed and mockingly. 

‘I’m not that interested.’ Regina was losing her patience and was clearly annoyed. She didn’t care about this woman and just wanted to get on with her plan. 

‘Please, allow me to introduce myself. You can call me Zelena.’ Zelena pranced around the bench, looking Regina up and down. 

Regina returned the favour and suddenly realised something. ‘That’s my dress.’ Regina was so done with this witch. First she hijacked her castle then she stopped her from finally having some peace and now Regina found out this woman was wearing her clothes as well. 

‘Mmmh, I had to take it in a little bit at the hips, but it looks better on me don’t you think?’ Zelena was getting really cocky now. She had a grin that spread from ear to ear. Clearly trying to aggravate Regina with her comments. 

‘I think you never should have left Oz.’ Regina was about to snap, all of this was too much. She just wanted to be happy, she didn’t deserve all of this. This Zelena should be careful with what she did or said next because when Regina snapped, you didn’t want to be near. 

‘You can have your castle back if you want it that badly. I was just trying it on for size. Besides I’ve already seen everything worth seeing: your closet, your gardens, your crypt.’ She looked directly at Regina waiting for her to ask the question, so she finally could reveal who she truly was. 

‘Yes, how did you break the bloodlock.’ Regina couldn’t help but be curious about how this woman could be powerful enough to break through blood magic, something even the Dark One couldn’t do. 

‘I didn’t.’ Zelena slowly stepped even closer to Regina never breaking eye contact. 

‘The door was open, no one is that powerful.’ Regina got even more confused. 

‘Cora really never told you.’ She couldn’t believe that in all these years Cora never told Regina about her. 

‘Told me what?’ Regina wanted answers but all this woman gave her were more questions. 

‘The truth about us, Regina.’ She looked Regina in the eyes. Searching for something that would indicate Regina was lying and did know about her. But she found nothing but confusion. 

‘What are you talking about? And how do you know my mother?’ Was she one of the hundreds of people who Cora had wronged? Was this woman just spouting nonsense? What the hell was going?!

‘The same way you do. I’m your sister.’ Zelena scanned Regina’s face in the hope to be able to read her reaction. But her little sister was better at hiding her emotions than Zelena would have hoped. 

Meanwhile Regina’s brain was still coping with the bomb this woman had just dropped. Could this really be? Did she really have a sister and did her mother never tell her? Why? 

‘Actually half sister but details, details.’ Zelena wiggled her shoulders. She was glad she knew more than Regina it gave her the advantage. 

‘That’s not possible… you’re… green.’ This couldn’t be true, could it. It would explain the bloodlock, but brought so many more questions. 

‘And you’re rude.’ Zelena couldn’t help but be offended by Regina’s comment and disbelief. 

Zelena then told Regina that Cora had her first, but had abandoned her. She told Regina how no one ever thought she was good enough, not Cora and not the only man they both knew: Rumplestiltskin. Regina told her they had both died and Zelena, who seemed sad for a minute put her mask back on and said she only needed Regina alive anyway because she was going to take everything away from her. Regina, however was not impressed, she already lost everything, there was nothing more she could lose. 

~~

*1 year later*

New York

It was another regular morning. Emma was cooking breakfast for her and Henry as Henry was getting ready for school. When suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. 

‘Are we expecting anyone?’ Emma asked Henry surprised. 

She then opened the door, only to find a strange looking man standing there. 

‘Swan, you have to come with me, your family needs you.’ He sounded panicked and in a hurry. 

‘How do you know my name? Who are you?’ Emma was confused, she was sure she had never met this man before. So what was this creep doing at her door. 

‘Regina really did a number on you.’ The man said with shock but also in awe. 

For a split second that name rang a bell and meant something to Emma and made her feel all fuzzy and warm. But the feeling of recognition disappeared as quick as it had appeared. 

‘Are you coming, Swan?’ He was impatient and slightly frustrated. 

Emma was not in the mood to deal with this creep and tried shutting the door but the man tried to stop the door from closing, she kicked him where he was most vulnerable and threw the door in his face. 

‘Who was he?’ Henry asked curiously. 

‘No one, he had the wrong apartment number.’ Emma made up on the spot.

Emma took Henry to school then set everything up so she could catch the guy who had jumped bail. She went on with her day trying to shake off the weird encounter she had this morning. 

It took a bit longer than expected but after 2 hours of waiting in her car for the man, who jumped bail, he finally took the bait and Emma was able to catch and bring the guy in. When she suddenly realised she had a date with Walsh and had to go home and get ready in less than an hour. She rushed home, got ready and rushed to the restaurant, where they were going to have dinner together. 

‘Sorry I’m late.’ As the words came out of her mouth they felt strangely familiar but Emma just shook it off, wanting to enjoy her date with Walsh. And she did until suddenly the man she met this morning, sat in Walsh’s seat, when he went to the toilet.

‘What the hell are you doing here? Have you been following me?’ Emma was starting to get a little bit scared and was really creeped out by this man. How was she going to get rid of him before Walsh came back.

‘Look, Swan, your family is in trouble and they need you. I know you don’t believe me but use your superpower and you’ll see that I’m not lying.’ Killian wasn’t going to give up that easily. He needed to get Emma to remember and he wouldn’t leave until she did. 

‘Just because you believe something is true does not make it real.’ How did this man know about all of this? He was probably just some crazy stalker. 

‘I have proof. Here’s an address, if you want to know who you really are, who your parents are, go to this address. You’ve been there before, a year ago. You just don’t remember. I know you, Swan, you sense something is off. Go to that address, take a chance. When you do, you’ll want to talk, I’ll be in Central Park by the entrance of the Zoo. Don’t do it for me or you. Do it for your family, they need your help.’ He kept eye contact with her the whole time and carefully pronounced every word. He needed to get Emma to understand the urgency and importance of the matter. Killian also knew it was stretch, Emma didn’t trust people easily but this was all he could do, for now. 

So after having said all that he got up and left. Leaving Emma alone with a piece of paper and wondering about what had just happened. 

When her desert arrived she saw a ring laying on the plate. As if this day wasn’t crazy enough yet. Emma didn’t know if she was ready for this but she couldn’t say no either. Luckily Walsh was an understanding man and he promised to give her all the time she needed to make a decision. 

That night she had the strangest dream, the name Regina kept popping up in her dream and the creepy guy telling her to save her family. That morning she decided to follow her gut feeling and go to the address given to her. 

When she first arrived in the apartment she didn’t notice anything special, until she saw the dreamcatcher and immediately knew whose place this was. Why would that man send her to Neal’s apartment. She looked around a bit more and then she saw it, the reason the creep must have sent her here. Henry’s camera, how the the hell did that get here. She thought it got destroyed in the fire. 

Emma needed answers so even though she knew better than to trust creepy men, she decided to go to Central Park and ask him what the hell was going on. When she arrived she found the man standing there with a pleased smirk on his face. 

‘Where did you get this and why was it in Neal’s apartment? It was destroyed in the fire last year!’ Emma asked confused but demanding. She wanted answers, now.

‘Henry must have forgotten it when you visited last year. I know you don’t remember but everything will become clear when you drink this. It will bring back your memories from another life.’ Killian offered her a blue flask, with the memory potion in it. 

‘Yeah, drink what the crazy man is offering me. That’s not happening.’ Did this man think she was crazy. She wanted answers but she was not that desperate. 

‘We need to leave now, Swan, so drink up, come with me and save everyone, like you always do.’ Killian was starting to get frustrated at his former friend’s lack of trust in him. 

‘I am not leaving, I have everything here. A nice apartment, Henry, a nice guy who loves me.’ The last part came out quieter than the rest. Somehow it started to feel less real than it had felt this past eight months. 

‘Maybe there is someone in your other life…’ Killian couldn’t help but be glad Regina didn’t see this. They never really got along but even he knew seeing this would break her heart. ‘Emma, we’ve already lost so much time, trust your gut feeling, you know something is off. Don’t do it for me or you, do it for Henry. He deserves to know where he grew up, do it for your family, they need you, they need the savior.’ He sounded earnest, he meant every word. But he also sounded urgent and serious and Emma could tell he was telling the truth or he at least believed he was. 

Emma decided to trust her gut and take a leap of faith, she decided to drink the liquid in the flask. Knowing a lot of people were around that would maybe help her or at least see her if this man was going to kidnap her. She took a deep breath, slowly but surely took the cork off and downed the liquid in one go. 

At first nothing happened but when she was about to ask what the hell she’d drunk and what it was supposed to do, it hit. Her memories came rushing back: her wish, Henry bringing her to Storybrooke, meeting Regina for the first time, her parents and Regina kissing her, that was one of her favourite but also most painful memories. The kiss finally confirmed what she had hoped, that her feelings for Regina weren’t one sided. But the realisation that this would be their first and last kiss made the memory bittersweet. 

When Killian saw the real Emma was back he explained that her family had returned to Storybrooke and that there was a new curse. He only had enough memory potion for Emma, that was sent to him via bird with a message saying everyone was back in Storybrooke. Emma called Walsh and told him to come over tonight because something important had happened. Henry was going to a friend’s house so they would be able to talk uninterruptedly. She was planning to tell him as little as possible, she didn’t know that much herself to be honest. 

But not everything went according to plan, when they went to the rooftop and Emma told Walsh she was leaving town for a bit he turned into a flying monkey and attacked her. Emma’s instincts kicked in and when it attacked her she grabbed a steel bar and when the monkey tried to pull it out of her hands she threw him off of the top and he landed on the pavement, disappearing into a puff of smoke. Killian heard the commotion but when he arrived on the rooftop Emma had already taken care of the problem. 

The next morning Emma prepared breakfast as she always did. She had been up all night not knowing what to tell Henry. After a night of worrying she decided to tell him it was a work thing. When he sat down she told Henry he was going to miss school for a couple of days and like any kid, Henry didn’t really mind. Emma told him they had to go to Maine for a work thing. When she was done vaguely informing him of what was about to happen, someone knocked on the door. Emma opened the door letting Killian in. 

Emma introduced them to each other, got ready then they left New York and drove to Storybrooke. When they arrived Henry was sleeping in the back of the car, everything felt the same from when Emma first arrived in Storybrooke. There was a sad ambiance and although it wasn’t that late, the streets were completely empty. Emma gave Killian the responsibility of taking Henry to Granny’s and making sure he slept nice and safe. Emma herself was going to pay a visit to her parents in the hope they would remember her and could tell her what was going on. 

She knocked on the door her heart pounding in her chest. David opened the door. 

‘Hi, my name is Emma. I’m your…’ Emma started to say hesitantly while hoping he would remember.

‘Emma, you’re back, you remember us. But how?’ David was confused and overjoyed at the same time. 

‘Emma?!’ Mary Margaret exclaimed happily and excited, she immediately engulfed Emma in a hug. 

Mary Margaret and David explained how they had lost a year of their memories and only knew about a year had past because Snow was pregnant when they woke up. Emma confirmed that it indeed had been a year and she explained how Hook got a message and a memory potion via bird so they thought Snow had sent it. She couldn’t remember sending a message but message via bird did sound like her. Her parents also told Emma about the people that were missing. They all decided to go to bed for now and try and find some answers tomorrow. 

Emma laid awake in her bed, her memories weren’t the only thing that had returned. Now that she remembered Regina, Emma’s feelings for her were back as well and they were stronger than ever because after that kiss she was sure Regina felt the same way. That was until her anxiety kicked in. Maybe Regina knew and it was just an act of pity because she thought she’d never see you again. No she wouldn’t do that, would she? Regina kissed her because she had feelings for her, right? And then this awful question filled Emma’s head. But why didn’t Pan’s curse break then? Shouldn’t it have been broken if they both had feelings for each other? Emma’s mind kept spinning for the rest of the night and for the second night in a row Emma could not fall asleep. 

When Henry woke up Emma decided they’d eat breakfast at Granny’s because she really could use something familiar. During their breakfast Mary Margaret and David walked in. 

‘Henry, this is David and Mary Margaret.’ Emma saw how excited her parents were to see Henry and it broke her heart that he wouldn’t remember them. 

‘Are you helping my mom with the case?’ Henry asked wondering why else his mom would introduce them to him. He leaned in closer to his mom and whispered. ‘Or are they the ones who jumped bail?’ Henry couldn’t help but be excited that his mom might finally let him help her with a case. 

‘No, they… they’re… they are just old friends.’ Emma stuttered, she was a terrible liar and she hated keeping secrets from Henry. 

‘Friends from where?’ These people seemed interesting and Henry’s curiosity got the best of him, he wanted to know more about them. 

‘Phoenix.’ ‘Here.’ Mary Margaret and Emma replied both at the same time. Trying to hide the tremble in their voices, they were both terrible liars. 

‘Well Phoenix and then here.’ Emma looked at Mary Margaret pleading her to shut up and let her handle this. 

‘But I thought you were only in Phoenix for... being in that place.’ Henry was starting to get confused. Why would his mother lie about something as stupid as where they met.

‘Right, we were cellmates.’ Mary Margaret blurted out trying to get out of this awkward situation.

‘Really? What were you in for?’ These people were getting more interesting every second. Henry’s overactive imagination pictured her robbing a bank, it looked quite funny to be honest.

‘Banditry.’ Mary Margaret said with a bit of hesitation after a short pause. She hoped it was a real thing you could go to jail for and tried to calm down. She really wasn’t used to lying, her thoughts were all over the place. She sat down next to Emma, who looked at her like she just said the most ridiculous thing she ever heard and decided to just talk her way out of it. 

‘People make mistakes. The important thing is to find a way to keep moving on.’ She looked at David her eyes pleading for any sort of validation. He returned a kind and comforting smile, telling her everything would turn out fine.

‘Did you know my dad?’ Henry got really excited, hoping he might get some information about his dad. Emma never liked talking about him but Henry wanted to know more about his dad. He wanted to get to know him, even if they would never meet. 

‘Shall we order, let’s order.’ David interjected, he had been quiet this whole time but spoke now trying to make the conversation less awkward and uneasy. 

When David was about to call Ruby over they heard glass breaking and turned their heads to where the sound came from. What Emma saw broke her heart, Regina was standing there, tears in her eyes, surprised look on her face and ready to collapse.

‘I’m… I’m sorry, I… I didn’t mean to startle you.’ It took all Regina’s strength to pull herself together just enough to say those words. How were they here and if they remembered Storybrooke why didn’t Henry remember her, he looked right through her. Did Emma remember her? And if she did why didn’t she come to her the moment she arrived? Was her anxiety right? Did she really not feel the same way? And then the question that had plagued her since she could remember, which wasn’t that much. Why didn’t the curse break? 

Emma rushed to Regina seeing how fragile she looked and took her to a more private and secluded area. Emma subtly supported her so Regina wouldn’t collapse while also making sure no one saw so Regina’s pride would remain intact.

‘He looked right through me.’ Regina couldn’t raise her voice above a whisper. She was using all her energy and strength to stop herself from breaking down right there. 

‘He doesn’t remember you.’ Emma told Regina, her heart breaking at the sight of her. She wanted to hug her and comfort her but she was afraid it might be too much and would scare Regina away. 

‘But you do.’ Regina said, a bit relieved at least Emma knew who she was but sad at the same time because now she had to live in the same town as her son, who didn’t even know who she was. ‘How did you know to come back? I gave Henry and you a new life, new memories.’ 

‘Hook found me, gave me a potion to make me remember. There wasn’t enough for Henry.’ Emma cleary was disappointed about it. She would do anything to make Regina feel better right now. 

‘How convenient.’ Of course the pirate would find her. He was as smitten as a teenage boy. ‘Look I didn’t cast this curse if that was what you’re thinking.’ 

‘The thought did cross my mind.’ Emma couldn’t lie to Regina and for a split second she thought it might have been Regina. But the moment she saw her, she knew it could have never been her. This hurt her more than anything else. 

You could see the hurt in Regina’s eyes. She couldn’t believe that after everything they had been through she still didn’t trust her. ‘Why would I do this? Why would I erase an entire year of my life. If I wanted to bring Henry back here do you think I would put myself through this kind of torture? I cast curses to hurt other people, not myself.’ 

Emma saw the hurt in her eyes and immediately regretted even thinking it could have been Regina. ‘I just need to start crossing people off the list.’

‘How? By using your superpower on everyone?’ Regina protected herself and tried to hide the pain the only way she knew how to, with sassy comments and sarcasm. 

‘Do you have a better idea?’ Emma was getting defensive. She was not in the mood for Regina’s comments right now, these past two days had been an emotional rollercoaster and she hadn’t slept all night, the last thing she needed was getting sassed by one of the few people she actually loved. 

‘Maybe I do.’ Regina said and she started to explain her plan. 

*1 hour later* 

Emma made sure everyone gathered in the town hall as she and Regina had planned. Everyone was talking over each other. There was more chaos and panic than Emma had anticipated. Emma turned to the crowd, made herself a bit taller and started addressing everyone. 

‘Everyone, everyone... I know that you’re frightened and confused but I need you to listen.’ Emma nearly had to shout to make them listen. She tried to be authoritative and confident so the town’s people could have a leader figure, would see her confidence, have confidence in her and trust her. 

Archie stood up and asked her ‘Is it true? Is there some kind of monster keeping us from leaving town?’ He sounded demanding and scared and felt like he was trapped in a cage, again. 

‘I have been informed by Robin Hood that one of his Merry Men was dragged off by something when he tried to cross the townline, yes.’ This was the part of being in Storybrooke she didn’t miss, constantly being trapped or threatened. Every day there was another problem, it never stopped.

‘Is that what happened to my brothers?’ Leroy demanded to know. It was always one of his brothers that got hurt, no one appreciated them or took them seriously just because they were dwarfs. But he wasn’t going to back down now, he wanted answers and he was going to get them. 

‘So we’re trapped here, again.’ Now it was Granny who spoke. She seemed angry and irritated, in her old days she just wanted some peace and quiet. But Storybrooke wouldn’t be Storybrooke if they had their memories or could leave the town.

‘Only last time we just lost our memories, now we get dragged off by some beast.’ Leroy said dryly before Emma could respond. 

Now Belle stood up, the normally calm and patient woman seemed aggravated and even a bit angry. ‘Do you know who cursed us and why they want us here?’ 

‘I’m working on it, but it’s hard to figure out who cast the curse when no one remembers the last year.’ Emma understood how frustrating it must be for them but at the same time couldn’t help but get a bit irritated by their impatience and rudeness. Couldn’t they see she was trying her best. 

‘Isn’t it obvious who cast the curse?’ Leroy yelled, being sure he knew who it was.

‘Do you remember something?’ Emma asked acting like she didn’t know who they were about to accuse. 

‘Who cast the last curse? Who knows how to use it? Who is the only one who ever did anything like this before? The Evil Queen!’ Leroy shouted while pointing at Regina.

Regina couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt, she thought it at least would take a little bit more time till they would start to accuse her and she really hated it when people called her evil after all she had done to change. But she kept her façade and did as planned. 

‘For once I’m just as clueless as the rest of you.’ The sass dripped off of her voice and her posture was regal. She needed to make them suspicious enough so they would blame her but not too suspicious because they would need to trust her after all of this. 

Whale had been quiet the whole time but spoke up now. ‘Do you expect us to believe that?’ Regina was going to have to do better than that to convince him she was innocent. 

‘It’s the truth.’ Acting aggravated by their comments and distrust wasn’t difficult for Regina because she was in fact aggravated by everyone’s comments and distrust. 

‘This curse has your fingerprints all over it.’ Granny said, accusing Regina. This woman had done the exact same thing before, why wouldn’t it be her this time. 

‘You did take away our memories once before.’ Belle commented, she never trusted Regina, they had a far too turbulent past. ‘You still have your big house.’ Regina still had everything she had before, she never seemed to suffer during these curses. 

‘Do you think I care about my house, about my job about any of these things?’ She was genuinely offended by that. Did they really think she cared more about all that stuff than about her own son?

‘Regina please, just tell us the truth, we’ll understand.’ Archie meant it; he probably would understand if she cast this curse to get her son back. He just wanted to know the truth.

‘Speak for yourself!’ Granny shouted and thought if Regina really did this, the savior wouldn’t be able to protect her this time.

‘I am telling the truth. If I had done this there is one thing I would have right now, my son.’ Regina’s voice was stern and her tone harsh, indicating she was fed up with being accused of things she didn’t do. She walked until she stood right in front of Emma and Emma said what she needed to say. 

‘Yeah, you’re not getting anywhere near him until I get to the bottom of what’s going on here.’ Emma stared at Regina, hoping she sounded stern enough. It was difficult being hard to Regina when she could clearly see the pain Regina was going through. In fact at the moment all she wanted to do was scream at the townsfolk for being such dicks to Regina and still not trusting her after all she had done to change. But she knew she couldn’t do that, it would ruin this whole thing they had set up. 

‘So now you’re siding with the rabble. I thought we’d been through this. I’m innocent.’ Regina’s voice cracked a bit and her eyes showed hurt as well as anger. 

‘Yes, that’s what you said but now I’m wondering if I believe you.’ Emma took a little step forward, trying to be intimidating and succeeding.

‘Don’t come any closer!’ Regina acted threatened. 

‘Regina, do you remember who you’re dealing with?’ Emma couldn’t help but think back to when they first met and they would make threats like this every other day. They really had come far. 

‘If you all want me to be the Evil Queen then fine, that’s exactly who you’ll get.’ After saying this and channeling the Evil Queen she used her magic to cause an earthquake and disappeared in a purple cloud of smoke. 

‘We can’t let her get away with this!’ Whale shouted, clearly wanting revenge, well in his eyes it probably was justice.

‘I won’t.’ Emma ran off to Regina’s office. Great they all believed it now, let’s get to work. 

When she arrived in Regina’s office Regina was putting something away in her desk.

‘An earthquake, really?’ Emma teased Regina, a small smile playing across her lips.

‘I had to make a statement and you’re fine.’ Regina retorted, she was a bit tense but relaxed when she saw Emma’s smile. ‘So do you think they bought it?’ Regina asked, hoping she had been able to pull it off. 

‘Yeah I think they did, nice work.’ Emma responded trying to make Regina feel less insecure. ‘Now let’s figure out who really cursed this town.’ 

Emma shut the door and checked to make sure no one was watching and Regina made everything ready to try and replicate the memory potion. Emma went to where Regina was standing and handed her the potion, they briefly touched hands and Emma’s brain stopped working she felt the electricity run through her body and just stared in front of her for what felt like forever but was actually 5 seconds. Little did she know that Regina was feeling the exact same thing. Regina was the first one to break the silence.

‘Thank you.’ This soft and loving tone of voice was only ever heard by two people: Henry and Emma. Regina’s little smile was genuine and she looked affectionately into Emma’s eyes. 

‘For what? We haven’t done anything yet.’ Emma lovingly stared back at Regina. She loved it when Regina used that tone of voice, she rarely heard it when she was alone with Regina. Most of the time she only spoke like that around Henry but Emma had been lucky enough to be on the receiving end a couple of times. 

‘You saw how quick this town was to blame me, but you, you believe I didn’t cast that curse. I know that wasn’t easy for you.’ Regina’s voice was hoarse from all the emotion and in Regina’s eyes Emma could see how thankful she was that someone believed her. 

‘Sure it was, I knew you were telling the truth.’ Emma’s voice was soft now, she wasn’t teasing anymore. When Regina looked into Emma’s eyes she saw trust and empathy. The way Emma said those words and the way she looked at her made everything a little bit more bearable. 

‘Even though everything that has happened has put me right next to Henry? Maybe this was some super complicated ingenious plan.’ Regina’s voice shook a little. She couldn’t help having doubts, maybe Emma would change her mind and think she cast the curse. She just had to make sure Emma trusted her completely.

‘It wasn’t. My superpower may not be perfect but with you, Regina, I always know when you’re lying. This time you’re not, you didn’t do it.’ Emma looked at Regina, her eyes telling her she could trust her. 

‘Even though you know I can’t live without him?’ A single tear ran down her cheek, she wiped it away quickly. It physically hurt Emma to see Regina like this. What she would give to see Regina smile again. 

‘There you go, telling the truth again.’ Emma looked at Regina and Regina looked at Emma. They both found comfort in each other’s gaze and for the first time for what felt like ages they both felt safe, cared for and even a little happy. 

After nearly two hours of concentrating and working very detailedly Regina finished the potion. 

‘Do you think it’ll work?’ Emma hoped that for once everything would go their way, that for once the problem would be solved without much trouble. 

‘Only one way to find out.’ Regina drank the whole thing in one go. Nothing, maybe it needs some time…. Regina’s temper got the best of her and before Emma could ask anything the flask, that had contained the potion, went flying through the room and shattered against a wall. 

‘Either that wall did something to you in the past year or I’m gonna say it didn’t work.’ Emma couldn’t help but be a little impressed by Regina’s strength, that flask flew fast and far. But when she wanted to make a comment about it she saw the despair on Regina’s face and suddenly she couldn’t bring out another word.

‘I must have missed an ingredient.’ Regina was angry, angry at herself for not doing it right and angry at the person who cursed them for doing this to her. 

‘Can we try again?’ Emma asked hoping the answer would be yes. She wanted to know who she should hate for doing this to Regina. 

‘I already used up what little was left of the potion Hook gave you. There’s nothing left to replicate. I can’t live in this town if Henry doesn’t remember me, it’s worse than any curse I ever could’ve cast.’ Regina turned around her anger turning to sadness and her tears threatening to spill. And the last thing she needed was to cry and appear weak in front of Emma. 

‘What if we could still find the person who cursed this town? What if we have been running the wrong con? If word got out that we were about the make a memory potion, the person who cursed the town will try and stop us.’ Emma was not going to give up, she would find who took their memories and she would force them to give them back. 

Regina turned back around, now facing Emma again, and understood what Emma was trying to do. ‘And if we set up a trap for when they do we know who cursed us.’ A little spark of hope was ignited in Regina’s chest. Maybe they would be able to find the person after all. 

‘Exactly. Now we just need to get the word out. That might take some time and even if it spreads fast the person will probably wait until it’s dark so he or she is sure we’re gone. So why don’t you ask Henry if he wants a tour of the town? So you can spend some time with him and a break will do you good. And don’t worry I’ll stay here and call you if the person does decide to make a move.’ Emma thought this might make Regina at least a little happy. She knew it wouldn’t be the same as having her son back, but she at least would be able to spend some time with him. 

‘I don’t know if that’s a good idea.’ Regina wanted to spend time with Henry but was afraid it might hurt more to talk to him when he didn’t even know who she was. 

‘It’ll be fine, trust me. We can just say you’re an old friend like David and Mary Margaret.’ Emma hoped this would help. Maybe he could make her smile and to be honest she hoped that he might even remember who Regina was after spending some time with her. Emma knew that was very unlikely but her parents were rubbing off on her and she couldn’t help but hope for the best. 

Regina took Emma’s suggestion and offered Henry a tour of the town and suggested they could even stop for ice cream. Henry was curious about this strange town and would love to get to know it and he never turned down ice cream, so he eagerly accepted the offer. 

They had walked around town and Regina had shown him all the most important places. As promised they got ice cream and were now walking in the park. They hadn’t talked much, aside from little facts Regina had told him and some small talk. It killed Regina that she didn’t know what to say to her own son. So she decided to just start with the small talk again.

‘Is the ice cream good?’ Her voice was a little higher than it normally was, she tried to calm her nerves and hoped the next thing she said would come out more confident and lower.

‘Delicious! My mom used to take me for gelato in Little Italy, but this is just as good.’ Henry, afraid he had been rude, quickly added that last part. He meant it though, this ice cream was amazing, but then you couldn’t do much wrong with ice cream.

‘Well, Storybrooke has got its own charms. Though I know it must seem quaint compared to the big city.’ Regina did her best to hide the sadness in her voice. She couldn’t help but wonder. What if he likes New York better? Will he even want to come back to this little town? She quickly shut those thoughts down and tried to enjoy Henry’s company. It was better than nothing, at least they are spending some time together. 

‘It’s nice actually. New York is great but there’s so many people it can make you feel…’ He didn’t know how to explain it or why he even was saying all of this to this woman he just met. He felt safe with her and trusted her immediately. Henry didn’t know why or how but he didn’t mind it either. This woman felt… familiar. 

‘Alone.’ Regina understood how Henry felt and hated that he felt that way, but she was glad that he was comfortable enough with her to tell her how he felt. 

‘Yeah.’ This woman got him, understood him. He didn’t want to tell his mom how he felt to spare her feelings so it was nice to be able to talk to someone who understood how he felt.

‘That’s the best part of a small town, everybody knows everybody it’s like… it’s like a big family.’ She couldn’t help but smile a little at her own inside joke.

‘Can I tell you something?’ Henry needed to get this off of his chest and a part of him knew he could trust this woman.

‘Sure.’ Regina’s heart jumped, she was scared it would be bad news but also happy that he trusted her with something seemingly important.

‘I don’t think it was just the case that brought my mom to Storybrooke.’ He was glad he finally found someone who he could really talk to. Regina listened and seemed interested as well, Henry was starting to like her.

‘Uuh… uuh… what do you mean?’ Did he remember something? Or did he think Emma came back for someone? Did Emma tell him? A hundred questions rushed through Regina’s head but she tried to look calm on the outside. Her voice had a slight tremor but aside from that she did pretty good.

‘I think she wanted to get out of New York for a while.’ Henry couldn’t help but be proud that he understood his mother, it made him feel mature and smart.

‘Why… why do you think that?’ the tremble in Regina’s voice got worse and she became even more nervous. What happened in New York that Emma would want to get away from? Was Henry catching on? 

‘My mom’s boyfriend, his name is Walsh, he proposed to her.’ Henry couldn’t help but notice that after he told the mayor this she looked sad. Like she had just heard terrible news or got hit by a brick. 

‘Oh.’ Regina couldn’t raise her voice higher than a whisper. These words hit Regina like a rock. Emma had a boyfriend. I mean she couldn’t blame her, Emma didn’t remember anything. But why wouldn’t she have told her. She thought they had shared a moment not so long ago. Was it all in her head? Were they still together? What did she tell this Walsh? She may have never met the man but she already hated him. 

‘And two days later she’s taking me out of school for some job in Maine. She wouldn’t take a job in Queens if it meant I’d miss school.’ He could see how the woman listened to every word he said as if what he was saying was the most important thing in the world. It was how his mother looked at him. 

‘What do you think happened?’ Regina wanted to know why Emma would keep this a secret. Maybe Henry knew what had happened or at least could tell her if they were still together or not...

‘I don’t know, but I doubt we’d be here if she’d said yes.’ Did the mayor really care about his ‘problems’ or was she just being nice? 

‘And how do you feel about it? Did you like him, this Walsh?’ She spat out his name like dirt, the disdain she held for him was nearly too much to hide. She couldn’t help but feel like she had been replaced. 

‘I liked how happy he made her plus it might be nice to have more than two place settings during the holidays.’ Henry could see she really cared. He was going to ask why but then he thought she was probably just trying to help. 

‘I think one day you’ll have more family than you’ll know what to do with.’ Regina talked in her voice only preserved for Henry and sometimes Emma. Her look was soft and comforting. 

‘You think so?’ He chose to believe this woman and prayed she was right.

‘I really do.’ She saw his wide smile return and couldn’t help but smile herself. There was nothing better than seeing her son smile. 

After their walk she dropped Henry at the Charmings’ apartment as Emma had asked her to. She then went to the point where they had agreed to meet up and there they waited together for the culprit to make a move on her office. They sat in silence until Emma spoke. 

‘Is everything alright, Regina?’ She seemed a bit off ever since she came back from her walk with Henry. Had it been a bad idea? Had it done more bad than good?

‘I’m fine.’ Regina lied, she couldn’t help but think about what Henry had told her and why Emma would keep this from her. 

‘Regina, what did I tell you, my superpower always works with you, so tell me what’s wrong.’ Why was Regina lying to her? Had something happened with Henry? Did they get into a fight or something? Emma thought they had a moment earlier, was it all in her head?

‘Henry t-‘ Regina stopped in the middle of her sentence because she saw someone enter her office. When Regina stopped talking, Emma looked in the same direction as Regina instead of staring at Regina and saw that the culprit had taken the bait. 

‘We got them.’ Emma said, excitement in her voice. Finally something was going according to plan. 

They stepped out of the car and silently walked to Regina’s office. Emma stopped right in front of the door feeling like this was all going too smoothly, her initial excitement ebbed away and doubt took its place. 

‘Are you sure they are trapped?’ It’s not that Emma didn’t trust Regina, these plans just mostly didn’t work the way they were supposed to and Emma wanted to make sure there were no unpleasant surprises. 

‘It’s a bloodlock it can keep you in or out.’ Regina confirmed a little offended Emma would doubt her magical knowledge and abilities. 

Regina opened the door but when they pointed their flashlights at the woman she disappeared in green smoke. 

‘I thought you said they couldn’t do that.’ Emma looked at Regina, normally her magic worked. So how did this person get out? 

‘Zelena…’ Regina said, baffled that it was her, she seemed so nice. 

‘What?’ Regina was not making any sense. What the hell did Zelena have to do with any of this?

‘It’s Zelena who cursed us, I briefly saw her face.’ Regina was a little glad that at least she saw Zelena’s face. Of course it would have been better if they had actually caught her but at least they knew who cursed them now. 

‘Zelena, the sweet woman who my mother hired this afternoon to help with the baby?’ Emma asked in disbelief. One thing was sure this woman was one hell of an actor.

‘Yes, maybe she needed the baby for something that only could be done here, maybe that’s why she cursed us?’ Regina was now thinking out loud, trying to connect some pieces. 

‘Let’s go tell David and Mary Margaret, make sure they and Henry are protected. And then we can get some sleep, come back and go over everything with a fine toothpick and come up with a plan tomorrow.’ Emma hadn’t slept since she remembered everything and could really use some sleep. 

Regina liked that plan so they went to the Charmings where they all gathered outside to make sure Henry didn’t hear them. They told Emma’s parents everything and Regina made sure to put a protection spell around their loft. After deciding to meet up tomorrow morning to come up with a plan they all went to their beds and tried to get some rest.

The next day Emma decided to go to Granny’s to get a coffee and bearclaw before heading of to her parent’s place, where they had agreed to meet and by the looks of it Regina had the same idea. Regina normally made breakfast herself but today something made her go to Granny’s: was it fate, a coincidence, just life’s cruel joke or was it all carefully planned? Because as Regina headed over to talk to Emma Zelena walked in, the Dark One’s dagger in her hand and the Dark One following her. The first thing rushing through both women’s heads was How is Rumple still alive? Their thoughts were interrupted by Zelena’s voice. 

‘Now that my identity has been revealed, I decided to pay a visit to my little sister.’ Zelena’s voice was sickenly sweet. She stepped closer to Regina, trying to intimidate her.

‘And who might that be?’ Regina asked slightly annoyed, she was not in the mood to deal with another villain, it felt like Pan had been defeated yesterday and they already had to deal with a new crisis. 

‘Why you of course, Regina.’ Zelena said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, hoping it would confuse Regina and those around her even more. Even make some people think Regina might have kept something from them. It’s always easier to win when the heroes are divided. 

‘What?’ Emma’s voice was a little higher than usual because of the surprise, Regina had never told her she had a sister. She turned to Regina, confusion written all over her face. 

‘I’m an only child.’ Regina responded to Zelena and Emma, her voice stern. Why would she believe this woman? Her mother may have had some secrets but never telling her she had a sister, no her mother would never do that, would she?

‘Cora lied to you, Regina. I’m your sister, half if you want to get technical.’ Zelena had a small smile playing across her lips, this was her own little inside joke. Although she did have a déjà-vu, she did enjoy her sisters cluelessness.

‘Why should I believe anything you say?’ Regina leaned a bit forward, invading Zelena’s personal space while trying to intimidate her. If only she felt as confident as she let on. 

‘Oh but you shouldn’t, it’s a lot to swallow, which is why I brought a gift to help.’ Zelena said her voice deeper than usual to express her ‘empathy’. She smirked at the irony of it all. So many years ago Regina had been in Zelena’s place and now she was at the receiving end. 

‘I don’t want a gift from you.’ Regina had a flashback to her interrupting Snow and Charming’s wedding, so this is how it felt to be at the other end. 

‘Ooh but you shall have it. My gift to you is these last few hours in peace, so you can dig deep into our past, Regina. You need to learn the truth and you must believe it and then meet me on Main Street tonight, say… sundown.’ Zelena came really close so Regina would feel small, her voice was deep, serious and lacked its usual playfulness. Zelena was ready to destroy Regina and finally get everything she deserved. 

‘And then what?’ Regina asked acting unimpressed. She had gotten a lot of threats in her past but for some reason this one hit her differently.

‘And then I’ll destroy you.’ And the moment she had waited so long for would finally arrive. 

‘This isn’t the Wild West.’ Who did this woman think she was? Did she know who she was talking to? Regina’s anger rose and brought the confidence she lacked earlier.

‘No dear, it’s the Wicked West. And I want everyone to be there to see the Evil Queen lose.’ Zelena now addressed the crowd, making sure they knew she was serious. She wanted everyone to see how Regina finally got what she deserved. 

‘I don’t lose.’ Regina was going to show this woman who she was dealing with. 

‘Neither do I. One of us is about to make history. See you tonight, sis.’ A wide coy smile was playing across Zelena’s lips as she walked out of Granny’s. 

After that bomb was dropped Regina decided to go to her vault to search for any kind of indication that Zelena might be speaking the truth. Emma and Mary Margaret offered to help but this was something she needed to do alone. 

Regina had been gone for hours and Emma was starting to get worried. So she decided to go to Regina’s vault and check if everything was alright. When she arrived Emma saw that Regina had found a letter, she stopped reading it when she saw Emma.

‘What’s in the letter?’ Emma asked, she was both curious and concerned. Regina seemed like she was in distress, which probably meant what was in the letter was bad news. 

‘Seems like Zelena was telling the truth.’ Regina tried to say as neutral and unfazed as possible. But that was difficult when an emotional whirlwind was happening inside. 

‘Are you okay, Regina?’ Emma already knew she wasn’t, she could see right through Regina. 

‘I’m fine, I’ll handle it.’ Regina knew Emma could call her bluff. Regina couldn’t hide anything from Emma. But she was hoping she’d just let it go, she didn’t want to appear weak. 

Regina was about to run off when Emma stopped her, softly grabbing Regina’s arm.

‘Talk to me.’ Emma’s voice was soft and caring. Her look begged Regina to tell her what was going on. 

She let go of Regina’s arm and Regina took a step back. She handed the letter over to Emma, who read it out loud.

‘Cora dear, I finally got my hands on your firstborn. Never thought I’d find her, did you. Now I know why, she’s the most powerful sorceress I’ve ever encountered, even more powerful than you. Stunning in every way.’ Emma fell silent, not really sure what to say next or why Regina was so upset by this letter.

Regina looked at Emma and understood the confusion she saw displayed on her face. So she started to explain.

‘I’ve seen that letter a hundred times. In my darkest moments I’d go to it for comfort, solace for a boost when I needed it. Because I-... because I always thought it was about me.’ Regina’s voice sounded fragile, tears were forming in her eyes and she started to fear the outcome of the upcoming battle. 

At this point Emma didn’t care if it would be too forward, she didn’t listen to her anxiety, Regina looked scared, broken and sad and definitely needed someone to comfort her. So Emma wrapped her arms around Regina. Regina welcomed the hug enjoying Emma’s embrace and the feeling of safety it gave her. For a moment all her fears and troubles went to the back of her mind. Regina decided to tell Emma how she felt, because she needed to talk to someone and Emma was one of the very few people she actually trusted.

‘If the man, who taught me everything I know about magic, thinks she is stronger than I am, then there is no way I can win this fight.’ Regina mumbled against Emma’s neck, a single tear made its way down her cheek. Saying it out loud made it real and even more terrifying.

Emma took a step back placed her hands on Regina’s shoulders and looked her in the eyes. She wanted to make sure Regina knew that she meant what she was saying.

‘Well, I don’t care what Gold thinks. I have seen you fight and you’re one of the most powerful and strongest women I know. And it might just be my parents annoying optimism rubbing off on me but I believe that you can win this fight.’ Emma’s voice was soft and she unconsciously rubbed little circles on Regina’s arm with her thumb. 

‘You’re right, they really are rubbing off on you.’ Regina let out a small giggle, she tried to lighten up the mood a bit. Regina was very aware of Emma’s touch and liked the soothing motion her thumb made. 

Emma playfully slapped Regina’s shoulder. Regina still wanted to know what was going on between this Walsh and Emma and since she might not be around later she figured asking couldn’t hurt. Unless the answer was that she loved him, that would hurt, a lot. She stopped overthinking and just asked her.

‘So Henry told me about this Walsh... Is the family tree going to become more complicated?’ Regina really tried to say his name normally but she couldn’t stop the slight tone of disgust that came with speaking his name. 

‘No, nothing to worry about, he turned out to be a flying monkey.’ Emma replied, thoughts running through her head. Why would Regina care? Was she scared Henry would get another parent? Was it curiosity? Or maybe, just maybe she might be jealous? She did spit out his name like it was dirt. Or was that just wishful thinking?

‘A flying money, and Zelena disappeared in a puff of green smoke. She must be the Wicked Witch in our world.’ Regina thought out loud. Suddenly something her mother had told her a long time ago popped into Regina’s head.

‘Emma, I need you to do something for me.’ The mood turned to serious again in an instant. Regina was about to ask a lot of Emma but she was the only one she could trust with this task right now.

Emma stayed a bit longer but then left Regina so she could get ready for the fight. 

Zelena was starting to get impatient. It was sundown and her sister was nowhere to be seen. 

‘If she doesn’t get here in five minutes I let the Dark One off his leash.’ The rage in her voice and face terrified as good as the whole town.

A few seconds after that statement Emma heard the familiar sound of Regina’s heels against the pavement. 

‘Didn’t anyone tell you? Black is my colour.’ Her voice and body language screamed confidence. Regina might have felt insecure but she was not giving anyone the satisfaction of noticing that. 

‘But it looks so much better on me. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show up.’ Her voice was filled with sass and anyone could see how confident she was. Zelena was sure she would win this.

‘I couldn’t let my sister off that easily.’ Regina said as she walked to where her sister stood. Sass clearly runs in the family. 

‘Aaah, so you’ve finally accepted me into the family.’ Zelena said sarcastically, fake joy displayed on her face.

‘I’ve accepted that we share a mother, yes. But I still have one question. What the hell did I ever do to you?’ Regina asked the anger starting to boil up and her insecurities going to the back of her head. 

‘Isn’t it obvious? You were born.’ Zelena inched closer trying to scare and intimidate Regina. But Regina was having none of that and answered Zelena by punching her in the face. 

‘I have been waiting to do that all day.’ That old smirk played on her lips again, it had been so satisfying to release all the anger, pain and all the other negative emotions that had been building up inside her. 

‘Rumplestiltskin can’t save you this time. He should have chosen me.’ Zelena seemed unaffected by the punch other than a little blood at the corner of her mouth. Her anger, jealousy and want for revenge drowned out the pain. 

‘Who?’ Regina asked confused, not sure what this was all about. 

‘Rumpelstiltskin.’ Zelena said getting angrier every second.

‘That’s what this is about, you’re jealous of me.’ Regina’s smirk grew wider. She never thought anyone would be jealous of the live she had, it hadn’t exactly been nice, up until she had Henry that is. 

Regina hoped Zelena would be distracted and ripped the traffic light off of its cables and threw it at her. Zelena, however, had fast reactions and threw it into the crowd. They both started circling each other like a predator getting ready to attack its prey.

‘You still don’t realise what you had. You never did. You got everything I ever wanted and you didn’t even deserve it! But I’m going to take it all away from you!’ Zelena said this with pure hate in her voice, it was all so unfair, she never got a chance and Regina just had it all handed to her.

Zelena blasted Regina onto a blue car. Regina’s whole body ached but she got up and created a fireball. Zelena made the fireball disappear and started to magically choke Regina. Emma wanted to go and help Regina so badly but she knew that if she did the whole town would suffer. 

‘Can’t beat me, little sis. Everything Rumplestiltskin taught you, he taught me too. But I was the better student.’ Zelena said with a self-righteous smile. She knew she would win but Regina was making this too easy for her.

She threw Regina through the clock into the clocktower. Regina didn’t have the strength to get up. 

‘Well, what are you waiting for? Kill me.’ Regina growled, she wasn’t going to cower away in fear, she was going out with bang.

‘I never said I wanted to kill you, I said I wanted to destroy you. And to do that I need your heart.’ 

Zelena launched her hand forward into Regina’s chest only to find it empty. Through the stinging pain Regina smirked, clearly pleased with herself. Zelena withdrew her hand.

‘Where is it?!’ Zelena shouted, she was furious and ready to kill everyone. 

‘Our mother taught me one thing: never bring your heart to a witch fight. Something you’d know if she hadn’t… abandoned you.’ Regina retorted, proud that she had outsmarted her sister. 

She pushed Zelena back. Slowly regaining a bit of strength.

‘You haven’t won, Regina. I will get your heart. I will get everything you ever had.’ If you thought she was angry before. And then suddenly a plan came to her. One that would get rid of her Emma Swan problem as well. Two birds with one stone. 

Zelena leaned in closer and enchanted Regina’s lips. 

‘You’ll think twice now before you kiss the saviour. Because the moment her lips touch yours her magic will be taken from her.’ Zelena was glad that she at least made Regina’s life a bit more difficult, it would be enough for now. Soon everything would go as planned and then she finally would get her happy ending. 

Zelena summoned her broom and flew out of the clock tower.

The moment Emma saw Gold disappear she rushed to the clocktower fearing the worst. She entered the clocktower and to her relieve saw Regina moving slightly.

‘You alright?!’ Emma’s voice was full of worry. She rushed upstairs. 

‘I’m still alive, aren’t I?’ Regina’s adrenaline had worn out and the pain really hit her. 

‘Gold disappeared we thought that meant…’ It was now David who spoke. The whole Charming family became anxious when they saw Gold disappear and felt relieved when they saw Regina moving and heard her talking. 

Emma helped Regina up. 

‘She defeated me. Hardly.’ Regina finished his sentence. 

‘You won?’ Mary Margaret was happy but also surprised Regina had come out on top. From the way things were looking Zelena had the upper hand during the fight. 

‘Well don’t act so surprised. As it turns out Zelena wanted my heart. It’s a good thing I wasn’t stupid enough to bring it with me.’ Regina was a bit offended that they all were so surprised that she had survived and won. 

‘Any idea why she wants it?’ Mary Margaret asked. She was a bit curious but more concerned. 

‘Well, she wants your baby.’ Regina thought out loud but then was interrupted by David.

‘And she took my sword.’ David said slightly embarrassed that he let the witch take it. 

‘We leave you two alone for a day and you manage to lose your sword.’ Regina responded irritated that she couldn’t step away for one minute or they found some way to help the enemy.

‘But why would she need his sword?’ Emma wondered, not sure why a witch with great magical powers and the Dark One by her side, would need a sword. 

‘It isn’t the sword itself she needs, it what it stands for, your courage. So she wants my heart, your baby and has your sword, those are ingredients.’ Regina explained, realisation dawning on her. 

‘For what a curse?’ Emma asked, not really familiar with magic yet. She knew the basics and she could use it when she was backed into a corner but most of it was still foreign. 

‘We’re already in Storybrooke. We’ve already lost our memories. What more could she do to us?’ Mary Margaret asked frightened. She was tired of all these curses and never being able to remember anything. She just wanted to live a happy life. Was that too much to ask for?

‘Emma, could we talk somewhere, alone?’ Regina looked at the Charmings they got the hint and left.

‘What’s wrong?’ Emma’s heart started racing and the worry from earlier came back. 

‘Zelena, she wants to take away your magic.’ Regina started hoping Emma would just leave it at that, without asking any more questions.

‘How?’ Emma asked, confused as to how Regina knew this and hoping she had more information so they could prevent that from happening. 

‘She- uh- she for some reason thought we would kiss and put a spell on my lips. I just thought you should know…’ This was awkward they had been avoiding what had happened at the townline since Emma had arrived and now Regina had to bring it up again. Regina started to blush and she looked down, not being able to look Emma in the eyes.

‘Thanks…’ Emma was glad Regina told her. This only proved that trusting Regina was indeed the right thing and that Regina had changed, not that Emma doubted that.

When Emma touched Regina’s arm to tell her she did the right thing by telling her she saw Regina flinch. 

‘We should get you checked out.’ Emma’s concern was evident in her voice and eyes. She hated seeing Regina in pain. 

‘I’m fine.’ Regina bluffed, trying to ignore the pain that had spread all over her body. 

‘Regina.’ Emma lowered her voice to make it sound sterner. Regina needed to stop acting like she hadn’t just been thrown through the clock into the clocktower. She needed help. 

‘I’m fine. I would like to know where my heart is though.’ Regina answered annoyed, she could take care of herself. But if she was being completely honest, she liked that Emma was worried, it showed that she cared.

‘I buried it in the woods in a satchel and asked Robin to keep it safe. Don’t worry I didn’t tell him what it was, I just told him it was something dangerous in the wrong hands. He promised no one would be able to take it. Do you want me to get it back?’ Emma asked, accepting that Regina won’t welcome her help. She hoped Regina wouldn’t mind that she had trusted someone else with it, she just thought that the woods would be the best place to hide it. 

‘No I trust that it’s safe there, probably safer than in my chest.’ Regina saw the flicker of doubt in Emma’s eyes and immediately reassured her with words and with a reassuring smile and nod. 

Regina started to walk away when she added. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow at your parents’.’ 

*The next morning*

They all met up at Mary Margaret’s and David’s loft to come up with a plan to defeat Zelena.

‘She took our memories which means we may have known something that could stop her.’ Mary Margaret thought out loud. It did make sense, didn’t it? Or was this just wishful thinking? 

‘So if we break the curse we may already know how to defeat her.’ Regina said her voice a little higher because of the joy that that little sparkle of hope brought. 

‘That’s easier said than done. Last time all it took to break the curse was me believing in magic and kissing Henry. I’ve done both since I’ve been here and nothing happened.’ Emma answered, she was being the realist of the group she didn’t want to give anyone false hope.

‘It’s the believe, we need to get Henry to believe again.’ Regina realised. All she wanted was Henry to remember, she missed him. Defeating her sister was high on her list as well of course but the pain of Henry being in the same town but not remembering became nearly unbearable. 

‘So we put on a magic show?’ Emma asked not really sure how they would make him believe again.

‘Last time Henry believed because of the book, we need the book.’ Mary Margaret explained, still a bit sad that Emma had so little believe. 

‘The only problem with that is that it disappeared. It’s no longer in Henry’s room.’ Regina commented sadly. Every time they made a bit of progress something blew them right back to the beginning. 

‘Last time it appeared in my closet when he most needed it.’ Mary Margaret said remembering the last time a curse needed to be broken. 

‘Well, then let’s search your closet.’ Regina said eagerly, she immediately got up and walked to Mary Margaret’s closet. She didn’t want to waste a second. 

After taking out a lot of her stuff Mary Margaret found the storybook in one of her old suitcases. Emma left and went to Granny’s to pick up Henry but when she entered the room she saw that Henry was gone. She ran downstairs and he wasn’t there either. So she ran outside to where everyone was waiting.

‘Henry’s gone.’ Emma’s voice was shaking and she started to panic. She should have never left him alone, what was she thinking. 

‘What?!’ Mary Margaret shouted, panic rushing through her. Where could he have gone? What if he was taken? No, they had to stay positive, negativity never helped anyone. 

‘So what are we waiting for let’s search for him.’ Regina tried not to panic and tried to think straight. They needed to hurry though, Henry may be in danger and she would never forgive herself if anything happened to him. 

Henry had gotten tired of Emma constantly dropping him off or just leaving him alone. He wanted to go home so he left. He was walking and got lost when the strange man who accompanied them to this weird place appeared.

‘Where are you going?’ Killian asked curious as to why the young lad had been out here all by himself. 

‘Home.’ Henry replied a bit shorter than intended, he just wanted to leave this place.

‘Then why are you at the docks?’ Killian asked not being able to hide his laugh, it was clear that Henry had no clue where he was going. 

‘I may have gotten lost.’ Henry admitted a little smile appearing when he realised how stupid this must look. He hadn’t thought this through at all, it was more a spur of the moment kind of thing. Maybe he should give this town another try, he hadn’t really tried his hardest yet and the people here were actually nice. 

Killian called Emma but she wasn’t there so he told the machine that Henry was at the docks alone. And then three flying monkeys came flying towards them.

‘Take cover in the boathouse.’ Killian shouted at Henry. Killian’s instincts took over and only two things came to mind: get Henry to safety and get rid of these bastards. He made sure to watch Henry’s back as he started running.

They both ran in while Killian shot two of them but then his gun ran out of ammo. They nearly got to Henry, who had fallen while running away, when Emma ran in shooting the last one. Another 3 flew in, Regina killed 2 with a fireball and Emma shot another one. Emma ran to Henry, who was very confused about what just happened. She helped him get up and promised him everything would get clearer once he touched the book. So he hesitantly did because he trusted his mother. The moment he touched the book all his memories came back, some memories clearer than others.

When it finally all calmed down, he looked at Regina’s hopeful face.

‘Mom.’ There was so much emotion in that one word. He was happy he remembered but sad he had forgotten her in the first place. Regina’s hopeful face, teary eyes and loving gaze made him feel loved. He had missed her without knowing it and now she was she was finally back. 

A wide smile spread across her face and she ran to Henry and hugged him. 

‘I remember.’ Henry exclaimed happily upon seeing his mother’s wide smile. 

Henry turned around to his other mom.

‘I remember.’ He repeated. He was proud and full of joy that he remembered. Even if there were some things he’d rather forget, his memories were a part of who he was. 

Regina didn’t let go of Henry, both hands placed on his shoulder while he said everything. Feeling like he might disappear again if she let go. ‘Do it, Emma, break the curse.’ Regina said, ready for anything, now that she had her son back. 

But when Emma was about to kiss Henry’s forehead he disappeared. Zelena appeared holding Henry.

‘So sorry to interrupt, now who wants to say goodbye first.’ Zelena said a menacing grin plastered on her face. She was about to make sure no one could remember a thing and as a bonus take one of the two people Regina truly loved away from her. 

‘Who are you?’ Henry asked panicked. He had never heard this woman’s voice or seen her before, so what the hell did she want with him.

‘You can call me auntie Zelena.’ Zelena said overly sweet, taking pleasure in Henry’s fear.

‘Enough of this!’ Regina walked closer readying a fireball but she got thrown back by Zelena’s magic. 

‘Let him go, he has nothing to do with this.’ Emma shouted angrily. Henry had just been thrown into this, he shouldn’t be the victim of the feud between his mother and her sister, he was just a kid.

‘Don’t blame me, blame yourself. Can’t have you breaking the curse now can we.’ Zelena commented playfully, she would do anything to hurt her sister and to make sure she succeeded. 

Zelena started choking Henry, Emma concentrated on all the love she had for Henry and on how much she wanted to protect him and used her magic on the witch. Emma’s white magic hurt Zelena.

‘Run!’ Emma shouted her voice shaking and her arms trembling with stress and the relief of seeing Henry safe. 

Henry ran right into Emma’s arms, she gave Zelena her death stare. 

‘Aagh, enjoy this moment, cause you don’t have many left!’ Zelena screamed in anger and pain and disappeared after that. 

‘Henry, are you okay?’ Emma’s voice grew a little steadier until she saw that Regina hadn’t gotten up. Emma’s heart dropped and a knot formed in her stomach.

‘Yeah.’ Henry was more concerned about his mother who still hadn’t gotten up. He went to where she had fallen. ‘Mom! Mom!’ His voice started trembling with concern and fear, he started carefully shaking his unresponsive mother and screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice near breakpoint. ‘MOM!’ Tears started to form in his eyes. His voice reduced to a whisper. ‘Please, wake up, Mom.’ He started to shake her a bit harder. 

Tears started to well up in Emma’s eyes as she feared the worst. She felt nauseous and her heart sank even further. 

And then there was movement, Regina turned around and a smile appeared on her face when she saw that Henry was safe.

‘Henry.’ Regina managed to get out. Pain shot through her whole body but the happiness of seeing her son safe and alive drowned it all out. 

‘Mom.’ Henry let out the breath he had been holding. Relieve washed over him. She was okay, bruised up but alive. He never wanted to feel like that again. Like the whole world was about to collapse. 

Regina hugged him and held him tight. Emma didn’t realise she was holding her breath until she started to breathe again. A huge weight dropped off of her shoulders.

‘I will never let you go away again. I promise. I love you, Henry.’ Regina held Henry’s head between her hands and kissed his forehead. 

The moment she did that a light and vibration spread through Storybrooke and everyone’s memories came back. 

‘It wasn’t me, it was you. Mary Margaret, David, do you remember? Do you remember the missing year?’ Emma felt proud of Regina and glad the curse was finally broken. She hoped they would know how to defeat Zelena so peace could come back to Storybrooke. 

‘Yes, everything.’ David answered slowly. Everything that happened came back and it was a lot to swallow. A lot had happened in that year. 

‘Why did Zelena cast the curse?’ Emma had been waiting for answers for a long time and was getting a bit impatient. 

‘She didn’t, we did.’ Mary Margaret responded happily, now she had her memories back and she finally knew what to do. 

‘You cursed yourselves?’ Emma asked confused as to why anyone would want to curse themself to this town and to forget. It didn’t make any sense.

‘Zelena’s weakness is light magic. I mean it’s clear now, more than ever, you are the only one that can defeat her.’ Mary Margaret explained, proud that once again their Emma, the savior, would be their hero.

‘That’s why we paid the price of Regina’s curse, to find you.’ David went on not knowing how to feel as all the different memories with all different emotions came back.

‘The price of the curse is the heart of the thing you love most. If one of you cast it… how are you both still here?’ Emma’s confusion only got worse, if this was supposed to make everything clear, her parents weren’t doing a great job at explaining. 

‘David was going to sacrifice himself. He told me to rip out his heart and crush it so we could find you. But the moment I did it Zelena flew in and added something of her own, we wouldn’t remember anything. And suddenly it hit me, I knew my heart would be strong enough for the both of us. So I begged Regina to split my heart and put one half back in my chest and the other half in David’s. Regina did as I asked and because of her we’re both still here.’ Mary Margaret smiled gratefully at Regina remembering what she had done for them. She was really proud of the long way she had come. At that moment Regina finally had the chance to kill them and get her revenge but instead she saved them and became their friend.

Emma looked lovingly at Regina, silently thanking her for saving her parents’ life. Regina and Henry had separated themselves so they could catch up on what had happened during the year they spent apart. And then Henry’s curiosity got the best of him. 

‘Have you and mom talked about what happened at the townline?’ Henry hoped they had. He had known for some time now that the two women had feelings for each other but they both were too scared to admit it and too oblivious to see how the other one felt. 

‘Henry?!’ Regina nearly shouted, surprised at Henry’s bluntness. She wasn’t prepared to talk about it, she needed to focus on defeating her sister. Anyway she was quite sure Emma wouldn’t feel the same way and she wasn’t sure if she could handle the rejection. And she certainly didn’t want to risk their friendship. 

‘Well, have you?’ Henry asked already knowing the answer.

‘No, we had other things that kept us busy.’ Regina responded hoping that answer would be enough for Henry right now.

‘That’s just an excuse and you know it, mom.’ Henry said annoyed that his moms both just kept making excuses instead of addressing the giant elephant in the room. 

Regina was about to respond when they heard a loud grunt. She turned around and saw Mary Margaret bent over in pain while clutching her belly. Both Regina and Emma immediately ran to her and David, who stood next to her. They went to the hospital as fast as they could while still driving safely. They arrived at the hospital where Mary Margaret and David were taken to a room.

‘I’m going to defeat Zelena before she can steal this baby or take your heart.’ Emma’s temper got the best of her and she was ready to kill this woman. She had threatened everyone Emma cared about. She wasn’t going to let her hurt anyone anymore.

‘You don’t even know where she lives.’ Regina tried to reason with Emma. She knew that if Emma ran into this fight hot headed and without thinking she’d lose. 

‘I’ll find her somehow.’ Emma wasn’t thinking straight all that went on in her head was: protect Henry, protect Regina and protect the baby. 

‘At least let me go with you. Henry can go and hide with Captain Guyliner for protection.’ Regina wasn’t about to let Emma do this alone, certainly not like this. When Emma’s temper got the best of her she tended to make mistakes, in this case a mistake could be fatal. 

‘Okay, let's do this.’ Emma responded, ready to fight. She was about to let Zelena know she messed with the wrong people.

They stepped outside the hospital and into the bit of forest nearby, thinking Zelena might hide there. The moment they walked in a little bit closer both Emma and Regina could feel her presence. 

‘Zelena, show yourself.’ Emma tried to stop her voice from shaking but stress got the best of her. Regina laid a comforting hand on her back. 

Zelena appeared right in front of Regina, took her hand and pricked her finger with some sort of pin before either one of them could do anything. ‘No one’s hiding.’ She said, a sickening grin played on her face. Regina collapsed and landed on the cold and wet grass. 

‘Regina, Regina.’ Emma said, her voice trembled. She shook Regina but no answer came. Emma was normally quite good at hiding her emotions but right now the panic was evident in her eyes. 

‘What did you do to her?!’ Emma’s voice had cracked and started trembling. She had to do her best to stop the tears from falling down. 

‘Nothing she didn’t want to do herself. Didn’t she tell you? She was down in the dumps back in the Enchanted Forest, she didn’t find a reason to stay awake. So she prepared herself a sleeping curse. Back then I intervened because I needed her awake but now that she’s no longer of any use to me I thought I’d give her what she wanted. Well a bit more than what she wanted, you see I don’t like the traditional sleeping curse, so unoriginal and boring. So I decided to spice things up a bit. I made her her own special dream and if she gets hurt there well let’s just say she might need a savior. It’s your choice, your magic or my darling sister’s life.’ After Zelena explained this in a disgustingly sweet tone she disappeared in a green cloud of smoke.

Emma needed to wake Regina up from this dream before anything happened but if they weren’t able to break the last curse, how was she supposed to break this one.

Regina stood in the middle of Main Street, everything seemed a little blurry but she didn’t really have time to worry about that. Emma stood there, frozen in place and Zelena was inching closer with the Dark One’s dagger ready to kill her. But when Regina tried to use her magic to help Emma nothing happened. Her magic was gone; there was only one thing she could do to save Emma. Regina ran as fast as she could and pushed Emma out of the way. Zelena launched her arm forward ready to stab Regina. Regina closed her eyes preparing to feel the stinging pain of the dagger. But instead of pain she felt a tingling sensation on her lips and a warm fuzzy feeling inside her stomach.

Regina was pulled out of the dream and back into reality. She opened her eyes and she saw beautiful green ones staring back at her. 

‘Regina.’ Emma got lost in Regina’s beautiful brown eyes. Her concern and fear drifted away and made place for relief and happiness. Regina was awake and she seemed okay. In this moment that was all that mattered.

‘Em-ma.’ Was all Regina was able to say. Her voice tender and filled with love. Emma had broken the curse with True Love’s Kiss. All of Regina’s worries were forgotten as she stared into those green eyes.

They stayed like that for a while, getting lost in each other's eyes. Slowly realising that it was true love and that the other person did feel the same way. The peaceful moment ended when Regina gasped as she felt her heart being taken.

‘Regina, what’s wrong?’ Emma asked panicked. Hadn’t she woken her up fast enough? Was this a side effect? 

‘My heart, she took it.’ Regina replied. The moment they had just shared stopped and was pushed back by the realisation of what was happening.They were both harshly thrown into reality. 

‘The baby!’ Emma shouted, realising what Zelena’s next target would be. 

Regina teleported them to the hospital but they were too late. Zelena had already been there. David came running towards them.

‘She took your brother. We need to stop her. Come on.’ David was even more hot headed than his daughter. He was ready to kill this Wicked Witch. He wasn’t about to lose a second child to a sorceress.

‘Wait- Zelena took my magic. We’re going to have to find another way to beat her.’ Emma said hastily so David didn’t run into something head first without knowing what he would be getting himself into. 

‘There is no other way.’ Regina said feeling uneasy as the guilt started to settle in. It was because of her Emma had lost her powers. 

Henry came over and joined the conversation. 

‘That’s not true, you can do it.’ He said to his mom, confident that she could beat her. He had faith in his mother, she just needed to believe in herself. 

‘Sweetheart, I don’t think I can survive round 3 with my sister.’ Regina said sweetly trying to be clear without being to harsh.

‘Glinda was pretty specific, only the bearer of the strongest light magic can defeat her.’ David said to remind Henry. The hope and determination he had one second ago was starting to ebb away. 

‘Zelena only beat you because you were using dark magic against her.’ Henry said, knowing she could do it. 

‘Yeah, but that’s all I have.’ Regina hated disappointing Henry but giving him false hope wouldn’t be fair to him either.

‘No, it’s not. When you kissed Henry that was True Love’s Kiss, that’s light magic.’ Emma was convinced Henry was right, Regina could do this.

‘See, you can do it.’ Henry smiled up at Regina, glad that Emma had backed him up.

‘Henry, I don’t even have my heart right now.’ Regina said scared of what might happen if she had to face her sister a third time. 

‘That doesn’t matter. You broke the curse without it and I know you still love me. I know there’s good in you.’ Henry encouraged Regina.

‘Our son is right, I know you can beat Zelena.’ Emma added. Regina didn’t believe in herself so Henry and Emma tried to make up for that by believing a little bit harder.

‘But, I don’t…’ Regina tried to protest. She didn’t want to let all the people she cared about down but there was no way she would be able to defeat Zelena.

‘You can do it.’ Emma told her once more.

‘Once upon a time you were a villain, mom, but you’ve changed you’re a hero now. And defeating bad guys is what heroes do. I believe in you, now you need to believe too.’ Henry was starting to sound like his grandparents, not that he minded. He knew that the only hope speech Regina would take seriously was the one that came from him. 

They went to the farmhouse where Zelena was enacting her curse.

‘Don’t worry, dearie, once all this is over you won’t remember a thing.’ Zelena said pleased with how this all was going to work out. She would finally get what she deserved. 

‘It isn’t over yet.’ Regina walked in, looking more confident than she felt. 

David and Hook walked in with their swords ready to attack, Emma had her gun pulled out and Regina was ready to take on her sister, well she hoped she was.

‘And who’s going to stop me. Certainly not the savior.’ Zelena mocked them, feeling invincible. 

‘Go get ‘em, I’ve got your heart.’ Emma said, only realising the double meaning behind it once she had said it out loud.

Emma slowly went toward Regina’s heart and David went to the baby, both laid in a big circle, magic flowing from them into the middle of the circle.

‘Zelena, stop now! We’re not going to let you succeed.’ David screamed at her. He used to hope that maybe a villain would come to their senses and stop before the whole big fight. But he knew that was wishful thinking and by now he said it more out of habit than really expecting it to have an impact. 

‘Rid me of those pests.’ Zelena commanded and waved the dagger. 

Rumple did as he was told and threw Emma against the hay. Zelena took care of Hook and David, who were thrown against the wall by her.

‘Come for another beating, sis?’ Zelena asked with a shit eating grin. If Regina hadn’t learned by now that she couldn’t win, she was even more stupid, naive or both than Zelena had initially thought. 

‘No, I came for some jewelry.’ Regina said her voice filled with sass and confidence. She reached out for her sister’s pendant. Zelena’s magic blew her backwards.

‘Only light magic can harm me and you’re as dark as they come. It was your destiny to be this way and it will also be your undoing.’ Zelena said as she lifted Regina up while choking her. 

‘Don’t tell me what I can be.’ Regina was trying her best to use light magic, thinking of all the people she loved but it wasn’t working. She wasn’t going out without a fight though. 

‘I tried to be good once but it wasn’t in the cards. This is who I am and it’s who you are!’ Zelena couldn’t believe her sister actually thought she could be a hero. The only thing she had ever slightly admired her for was her evilness and now even that was gone. 

Emma ran while Zelena was distracted and took Regina’s heart. She looked at Regina, her look telling her she could do this. 

‘You’re wrong, sis.’ Regina concentrated on Emma and Henry and felt the magic flow through her. A white light shone from both her hands.

‘What are you doing?’ No, this could not be happening. 

‘Changing.’ She threw Zelena back and landed safely on the ground. 

‘How?’ To say Zelena was surprised would be an understatement. 

‘I make my own destiny.’ Regina said proudly, she felt her confidence coming back. 

Regina took Zelena’s pendant and with it gone, so was Zelena’s magic.

David ran to the baby and Emma started to walk to Regina but stopped for a moment to ask ‘David, the baby... is he okay?’ 

‘Yeah, he can handle anything just like his big sister.’ David was so relieved and happy. He hadn’t failed his second child, and his fear of being a bad father slowly grew less. 

‘You failed, you’re not going anywhere.’ Regina looked down at Zelena. And for a moment Emma feared that she might want revenge and turn back to her old ways.

‘I beg to differ. I’m going to make you pay for everything you did to me.’ Rumplestiltskin said as he magically dragged Zelena over the ground towards him. 

‘What are you waiting for? Just do it!’ Zelena said, fear evident in her voice, but she wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.

‘With pleasure.’ Rumple raised his hand, he was ready to end Zelena.

‘No!’ Regina screamed and took the dagger. ‘Enough, this ends now.’ She commanded Rumplestiltskin to stop.

‘After everything this witch has done, you’re going to protect her.’ He asked in disbelief. 

‘Good magic stopped her and good magic doesn’t exact vengeance. Heroes don’t kill.’ Regina reminded him, she had worked so hard to be good. She wasn’t about to let anyone ruin that.

‘So now you’re a hero?’ Zelena scoffed. Her sister really was the most pathetic person she had ever laid her eyes on.

‘Today I am.’ Regina answered feeling more proud and sure of herself than she had in what felt like forever. 

Emma ran towards Regina and kissed her, not thinking about anything and ignoring her anxiety. Regina kissed her back and for the first time they kissed without any worries. The kiss started to become passionate but they both abruptly pulled away when they heard David clearing his throat. 

‘I’m proud of you.’ Emma gave Regina her heart back and Regina put it back inside her chest. They then put Zelena inside her cell and when she had been locked up, Regina decided that she and Emma should talk about all that had happened after they visited Mary Margaret and Emma’s new brother. So they went to the hospital where Henry was waiting for them.

‘Grandma told me you two kissed. Does that mean you two finally confessed your feelings?’ Henry asked happily, hoping his moms had stopped being stubborn. 

‘Let’s just go and meet your new uncle.’ Emma said nervously. She didn’t really know what all this was yet. She hadn’t had the time to think about it. To Regina she whispered ‘I’m going to kill my parents.’ Regina couldn’t help but laugh at that. Emma grew all warm inside when she heard Regina laugh, it was the most intoxicating sound. And knowing she was the reason made her feel even better. 

‘Good luck with that, I’ve been trying for decades.’ Regina responded. This made Emma chuckle and Regina’s heart melted when she saw it.

Emma visited the baby and avoided any talk about what was going on between her and Regina. Regina waited outside at first, not wanting to invite herself in but Mary Margaret soon made clear she was welcome. 

After their visit Emma, Regina and Henry went to Regina’s house. Henry immediately went upstairs telling his mothers he was tired and needed some sleep but they both knew he was giving them some alone time to talk about everything that had happened. 

Regina took a deep breath and started ‘Emma, I-, at the townline I kissed you because... I... I have feelings for you but I was too scared of you rejecting me to tell you how I felt. And in that moment I felt like I had nothing to lose. When you saved me today I felt something I never thought I’d feel again. What I’m trying to say is: Emma, I love you.’ 

Regina had poured her heart out, her voice had cracked while saying the last bit and she stared deeply into Emma’s eyes.

Upon hearing those words Emma’s heart fluttered. She couldn’t believe Regina had just told her she loved her. For the third time that day Emma kissed Regina. She loved the way Regina’s lips felt against her own and could never get tired of this feeling. Regina placed her hand on Emma’s cheek, gently pulling her in closer. The kiss became more passionate and intense and they only parted when they needed air. 

‘I love you too, Regina.’ Emma’s voice was soft and loving her eyes full of adoration and love. 

Emma embraced Regina and Regina let her head rest on Emma’s chest. They both couldn’t remember the last time they felt this happy, loved and safe.

*1 week later*

Mary Margaret had left the hospital and both her and the baby were healthy. Emma spent very little time in the loft and had practically moved in with Regina. Word about The Evil Queen and The Savior being girlfriends and loving each other had spread quickly. Most thought it was cute, some were against it but no one really cared about what those people had to say. 

There was a party going on at Granny’s. The party was being held for two reasons: 1. revealing the name of the baby, 2. a late celebration for defeating Zelena.

After waiting a long time Mary Margaret and David finally revealed the baby’s name was Neal. They named him after Rumplestiltskin’s son who died when he had revived his dad. 

The party went on and Regina and Emma were talking to Belle when Rumple joined them and Regina needed to ask the question that had been plaguing her mind. 

‘Rumple, if Emma and I are True Love, why didn’t the curse break when we first kissed?’ Regina needed to know the answer. That question had kept her up too many nights.

‘Well unlike you two we all saw the love you had for each other. Pan knew and worked it into his curse, just like you did with Snow and Charming. And from what I know, you two kissed when the curse wasn’t fully enacted yet and you can’t break something that isn’t there.’ Gold explained calmly even though he couldn’t believe that Regina hadn’t thought of this herself.

Regina couldn’t help but laugh at that, Mary Margaret had been right. She occasionally was a genius. All the anxiety and questions they both had had about this moment disappeared completely. 

‘What’s your price, Gold?’ Emma asked, knowing that with him there was always a price. She didn’t want Regina to have to pay it. 

‘Nothing, see it as a thank you for freeing me. Don’t get used to it, dearie.’ Rumplestiltskin said with a hint of a smile on his face, Belle really had an impact on him. 

As time went on the Swan-Mills family had many problems to solve and villains to fight, but they did it like they did everything, together. And whenever someone of the Swan-Mills-Charming family was feeling down there was always one question that would make them smile at the memories that it brought: Why didn’t the curse break? 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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